Don't Say Goodbye
by BitterSweetNitemare
Summary: Living his uneventful college life, Ichigo leaves to attend his night classes when he finds a... random unconscious girl in front of his apartment! Without perverted intentions, he takes her in and cares for her out of sympathy. Little does he know of the trouble he's getting himself into! IchiRuki AU T for slight violence and language


**A/N: **Like all my other one-shots, this one was thought up a while ago and I'm finally getting to it now. It's probably the longest one-shot I've written, and maybe the weirdest one too. It's slightly based, but more inspired by Davichi's song back in September called, "Don't Say Goodbye." It's great song, and the MV is sad. If you don't like Asian music, then… you should still listen to it anyways.

This story is separated into different scenes just showing Rukia's life with Ichigo until the more "deeper" part of story unfolds.

This is a one-shot, NOT a chaptered story, so it's a little "rushed." If I had been more elaborate, this story would have ended up 17,000+ words.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't not own or claim Bleach. <strong>

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><p><em><strong>Don't Say Goodbye<strong>_

He wasn't exactly sure how to tackle the situation at hand.

When he had left for class yesterday, Ichigo had found a random girl passed out on the sidewalk. She looked fairly beat up and dirty, and considering he wasn't an asshole who would just leave her there, he took her into his apartment.

She looked dirty, yet still kept this "clean" complexion to her. She had some dirt marks on her face as if she had been in a fight, and her expensive looking clothes were ruffled and ripped. She didn't look necessarily unhealthy or malnourished. She looked quite healthy actually, aside from her few bruises and scratches.

Considering that, Ichigo inevitably, had missed class due to his pondering over what exactly he was going to do with the girl. He couldn't have just left her in his apartment unsupervised, nor could he have just left her on the side walk. It was eight o' clock at night and there were rapists out there! She didn't look any older than 15, so she would have made the perfect target, which also inevitably led him to where he was now… sitting on his couch watching the girl sleep on the other couch across from him.

He had been sitting there since yesterday when he brought her into his apartment. In all honesty, he didn't know why he did what he did, but he just did it because… he did. Now he was just confusing himself even more with why he did what he did.

Damn, he needed sleep.

His thoughts were interrupted when the girl on his couch started to move. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and yawned loudly. She turned to face him with her eyes still closed and nestled into the pillow she was laying on. The sun's rays shot through the window, illuminating her pale skin and midnight raven hair.

She sighed happily and stretched her arms forward, "Hmm… that's the best sleep I've had in awhile," she said to herself, rubbing her eyes again. "I wonder what time it is."

"It's seven in the morning," answered the husky deep voice of a man.

"Seven? That's earl- wait a minute!" She shot out of her laying position and looked over at the source of the voice. She looked around at her surroundings, and then looked down at herself. "Wait, where am I? Who are you? Why am I here?" she said quickly as though she was going to hyperventilate.

"Slow down there for minute, this isn't twenty questions," said Ichigo with a hint of sarcasm. "And to answer your questions, this is my apartment and that's my couch you're laying on."

She nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, and I'm a med student. And for the last question, I don't even know, so don't expect an answer from me. I just found you on the sidewalk in bad shape, so I took you in," said Ichigo shrugging.

The girl nodded, and looked down at her hands, deciding whether or not to tell him her name. He seemed trustable, so why not? "Nice to meet you, I guess, Kurosaki-san. I'm Kuchiki Rukia, but just call me Rukia."

"Nice to meet you too… Rukia. Call me Ichigo, I hate honorifics," he said, playing with a pen that had previously been on his coffee table. "Well, I guess it's your turn to answer my questions now. I don't want to be nosy, but why were you on the sidewalk yesterday all beat up? Did someone hurt or hit you?"

Rukia hesitated for a moment, not sure on what to say. She couldn't possibly tell him what actually happened. "I…," she drifted off, fidgeting with her fingers, "Well…"

She sat there contemplating on what she was going to say, biting her lip. She couldn't tell him the truth, and she couldn't think of a good enough lie.

"You don't have to tell me if it really bothers you that much, it's obviously not my business to know," said Ichigo, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. "You can tell me if you want, but otherwise, I have no right to know."

Rukia couldn't believe what she was hearing. This man was actually caring that she was feeling uncomfortable, like he actually gave a shit about her. She snapped her eyes up to him, and studied his eyes, expecting to see some sort of lie behind his amber irises. Seeing nothing but sincerity, she felt a warm feeling flow through her body in large wavy tides.

That's when she felt as though he might be the person to finally be able to understand her.

* * *

><p>A week had passed since Ichigo took Rukia in. He allowed her to stay with him until she was ready to leave, whenever that may have been.<p>

After their conversation, he let her wear one of his shirts after she took a shower, and borrowed some clothes from his female friend so that he could take her out to get real clothes. Even after getting her own clothes, she always ended up going to bed with one of Ichigo's shirts.

As the past week went by, they had learned little tidbits about each other, like how Rukia was actually 21 years old, or how Ichigo was 25 years old. He had learned that she liked rabbit themed things, drawing –which led to him getting her a sketchbook- , reading manga, watching random Korean and Japanese dramas on TV, and eating rabbit shaped snacks. Rukia had learned that he loved chocolate, literature –William Shakespeare-, helping others, and protecting his family and friends.

She also learned that he slept with a small stuffed lion named, "Kon" which she found to be adorable. The fact that he slept with him was absolutely adorable! And much to his dismay, she always used it against him when she wanted something.

"Ichigo! We ran out of Chappy grahams!" yelled Rukia from the kitchen. She hopped onto the counter and sat there, waiting for the orange haired man to make an appearance.

"So? What am I gonna do about it?" he asked from his "office."

"Go and get more of course!" she said, randomly feeling the urge to lie down on the counter.

She had been feeling freer and more laidback lately. There were no weights on her shoulders, and her head was ache free. She just felt so... relieved of all her problems.

She could probably live like this forever, but even she knew that was an impossible for someone like her. Plus, when she enjoyed herself, she was just bothering someone else. Her happiness always costed someone else's effort and happiness.

She wasn't worth the happiness.

* * *

><p>"Rukia, what are you drawing?" asked Ichigo, walking over to her, eying her curiously.<p>

"Nothing!" Rukia said, grinning. She hugged the sketchbook to her chest, not intending to show him her artwork. She wasn't drawing him as a bunny, but she was drawing him as a portrait instead. She knew her bunny drawing skills weren't the best, but her realistic portraits were fairly good, if she could say so herself.

"What's with that grin? You better not be drawing me as a rabbit again!" he said, crossing his arms. He frowned, but turned the corners of his mouth upward slightly. "You're drawing me as a bunny aren't you? I knew it! You've been laughing about that since yesterday!"

She laughed loudly, and glimpsed at her portrait. It looked almost exactly the same as the real Ichigo, except the drawn version looked a little less "pissy."

The orange haired man lurched forward to grab her sketchbook, only to fail when she swiftly moved it away from him. Despite her small size, she was still able to dodge all his grabs. "No! Bad Ichi," she playfully smacked his hand away and stuck her tongue out at him.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at her, "No, I want to see what you were drawing!" He went to make another grab for her sketchbook and managed to grab part of it.

Rukia tried to yank it out of his grip, but due to his bigger and stronger build, her strength was nothing compared to his. She glared at him, and he glared back. It was like a glaring contest.

After minutes of glaring and unsuccessful pulling, she finally decided to resort to desperate measures.

She bit him in the arm. Light enough to not tear through his skin, but hard enough to hurt.

"Ow! What the hell? Are you part rabid bunny?" Ichigo rubbed the spot where she bit him, ignoring her traces of saliva.

"Maybe!" she replied, hugging her sketchbook to her chest again. Noticing that the spot where she bit him on the arm was red now, she started to feel bad. She lifted his arm up and kissed the spot she bit gently brushing her lips on the surface of his skin.

Ichigo's blood slowly rose to his ears and his cheeks, "Uh, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm kissing your pain away! Like how moms can kiss 'boo-boos' away," she said with a serious look plastered on her face.

He just stood there, but slowly exploded into laughter. "You actually believe that? A kiss can't actually erase pain, or 'boo-boos.'"

She crossed her arms, and stuck her bottom lip out, "At least I tried! It's not like I actually had a mother to do that for me, so I wanted to try it out," she said, shrugging.

Ichigo immediately stopped laughing and just stared at her, her words repeating in his head. _It's not like I actually had a mother to do that for me_…

"Wait, you don't have a mom?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows together.

She shook her head, but gave him an assuring smile, "Nope, I don't have a dad either, but I don't need parents. I've been on my own for most of my life, and I like it that way. I don't need sympathy, so don't worry about it."

He just looked at her for a few more minutes, trying to find a hidden meaning behind her words, but her emotions were too locked up for him to read her thoughts. He just smiled back at her and ruffled her hair, earning him a slap in arm.

* * *

><p>"What's that?" she asked, leaning over his shoulder.<p>

"That's a karyotype for a child with Down syndrome, and this one is for a child with cystic fibrosis," said Ichigo pointing to the charts on his Mac.

Rukia looked at the charts with fascination, not exactly understanding them, "That's cool, but I can't tell the difference. They look the same."

"They're not the same. Here, let me show you," he gestured for her to sit on his lap, which she did, as if she were a child. "See, for Down syndrome, there are three chromosomes instead of two. There's only supposed to be two."

She nodded, barely paying attention. The fact that she sitting in his lap was distracting her, she couldn't concentrate on what he was saying. She was concentrating on how warm he was, and how protected felt with his arms around her. She sighed and laid back into his chest, resting her head on his shoulder.

Ichigo froze and looked down at the girl who was sitting in his lap. "Rukia? If you're gonna take a nap, mind you do it on the couch?"

"Nope, you're warm and I don't feel like moving."

He opened his mouth, but then closed it when Rukia nuzzled her cheek into his collar bone.

Maybe this wasn't so bad, she was really petite so she didn't take up much space, and she was kind of comfy.

* * *

><p>"Rukia, what are you doing here?"<p>

Rukia shrugged and jogged up to him, "I got bored so I came to pick you up from class."

Ichigo looked at her unbelievingly, "Do you know what time it is? It's ten o' clock!"

"So? What about it?"

"We live in a fucking city! There are drunkards and rapists all over the place, it's dangerous!" he berated her. "What if something happened to you?"

She glared at him, "I can fend for myself thank you very much! I don't need you to worry about me! I'm not so weak that I can't walk around at night without you up my ass!" she yelled, fuming. "I came all the way here to pick you up and you start yelling at me? Well, I don't care anymore!"

She began quickly walking away, but was forced to a halt when her wrist was grabbed from behind.

"What's so wrong with me worrying about you?" Ichigo asked, staring at her intently. "Do you care so little about yourself?"

She tried yanking her wrist out of his grip, but he only held tighter. She turned to face him, her cheeks red from anger and the cold. "I don't need you to worry about me. I'm already burdening you as it is, so having you worry about me is-"

"Who says you're burdening me? Stop making up reasons to hate yourself, Rukia! You're my companion, and companions help each other out," he said, pulling her closer to him. His expression softened, "You should rely on me more, for things other than getting you snacks from the store," he said with a hint of humor. He wrapped his scarf around her neck and wrapped his arm around her, pushing her into his side. "Come on let's go home, you're freezing."

* * *

><p>Ichigo looked in the fridge and found nothing edible other than sauces and spreads. He sighed, <em>I guess we'll have to eat out again, <em>he thought. "Oi! Rukia, you want to go out for dinner? We don't have anything at home," he said loudly, to which he heard muffled sound in the distance as a reply.

Suddenly the said girl appeared in the kitchen, "I want sushi!" she declared.

_Later…_

Rukia hummed as they walked along the sidewalk, heading towards the closest sushi bar. She danced around as she walked, almost like a child.

"How are you wearing a dress? It's freezing," said Ichigo, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I don't know… I'm just really used to the cold, I guess. I kind of like the cool breeze," she said, running up to him when she had noticed he had gone farther ahead of her. "Are we almost there yet? I'm really hungry."

"Yeah, we're almost there, it's that restaurant right there. It's the one with all the students walking in. Apparently, the sushi there is really good, I've never actually ate there before, but I know the people who own it," he said with a slight groan, pointing to the restaurant that fit his description.

Rukia brightened up and grabbed his wrist before running over to their destination, "Come on! I'm hungry!"

Upon entering, they were greeted with a smirking shady looking man. He wore traditional green clothing and a weird green and white hat that shaded his eyes. "What do we have here?" he said, giving Rukia a full body inspection, which caused Ichigo glare at him.

A woman with tanned skin and cat-like eyes came out from the back and immediately mirrored the man's smirk. "Well, if it isn't Ichigo-san!" she walked over and abruptly locked Ichigo into a head lock and ruffled his hair. "I haven't seen you in a long time, kiddo! It's about time you came and visited us!" she said, laughing at the orange haired man's expression. "You even brought a cute girlfriend!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo scowled and pulled her arm off of him, not even caring to deny what she said. "Can't we just eat in peace? Come on, Rukia," he took her wrist and led her to a table near the window, _away _from his so-called guardians.

The tanned skinned woman chuckled evilly, "So, Kisuke, should we tell Isshin that his little son finally got a girlfriend?"

Kisuke opened his fan and smirked behind it, "No, not yet, Yoruichi-san. For now, we wait," he said, his tone drenched with mischief. "Ururu, could you go take their orders? We have some snooping to do," he directed a young girl with black hair.

"So, they're your family?" asked Rukia curiously.

"Sorta, they're my parent's closest friends. They could be considered my aunt and uncle, or my guardians," said Ichigo looking out the window. "It's hard to tell that they aren't a part of my family. They're just as nosy as my dad, if not more."

She laughed and followed his gaze outside the window, "They seem nice and fun though. I wish I had relatives like them!"

"Excuse me, may I take your order?" asked a young girl, bringing over tea.

Ichigo turned and nodded, "Yeah, could we have this and this," he said pointing to some items on the menu. "Thanks, Ururu."

Ururu blushed and wrote the items down before bowing and walking away.

~oOo~

"Itadakimasu!" said Rukia as she picked up a piece of sushi and dipped it in soy sauce. She squealed in delight at the heavenly taste, "You're right, this sushi is amazing!"

Ichigo nodded in agreement, spreading a large amount of wasabi on his piece and stuffing it in his mouth.

She stared at him in amazement, "How can you stand the spiciness of the wasabi?"

"Itch reary notch tatch schpishy," he said with his mouth still full. It translated to, "It's really not that spicy." He swallowed, and spread wasabi on his next piece, and dipped it in soy sauce before biting half of it.

"I can't even stand a little wasabi," said Rukia shaking her head in disbelief.

"Here, try some. It's not that bad, I guarantee you'll like it," he held out his already bitten piece of sushi with his chopsticks and gestured her to try it.

She hesitated for a moment, for two reasons. One, she didn't want to try the wasabi. Two, she would be eating his already bitten piece of his chopsticks. It wasn't that she was a germaphobe, she just thought it was a little weird. Despite that, she ate it anyways, her mouth lingering on his chopsticks for a couple of seconds too long.

"Hmm… you're right, it really isn't that spicy," she said, jinxing herself. Right after she said that, her tongue started to go on fire, along with her throat as she swallowed it. She started fanning her mouth with her hands and her eyes were getting watery, "I-Ichigo, w-water!"

Instead of laughing like she expected him too, he looked at her surprised. Realizing that she was probably dying, he looked around, but found not a trace of water. He knew he wouldn't find milk since milk didn't mix well with fish, and she probably wouldn't want tea since it was burning hot.

He continued to look around urgently, and saw that Yoruichi was watching them. She gestured him to do something with her hands, but he wasn't getting the message. She point at her mouth, and stuck her lips outwards. _Fish?_ he thought.

Yoruichi slapped her forehead as though she had heard his thoughts, "Kissing helps with spicy food!"

He sent her a message with his eyes saying, "No, that's ridiculous, I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Just do it!" said Yoruichi loudly.

Ichigo looked back between Yoruichi and Rukia. The raven haired girl was looking at him, pleading for him to take away the burning sensation in her mouth.

He didn't know what to do, so he just did what he was told. He kissed her. He was leaned over the table and his eyes were shut somewhat tightly.

Rukia's watery eyes widened, and she blinked several times. Instantly, the burning sensation in her mouth was gone.

He pulled back quickly, and turned away from her, flustered. "So, uh… is your mouth burning anymore?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

She sat dazed in her seat, _Did that really just happen? Did he just kiss me, and somehow miraculously erase the burning feeling in my mouth? _she thought, nodding at him.

Yoruichi on the side lines was a little disappointed with the results. Maybe she should have told him to make out with her instead, but the look on his face made up for the disappointment.

It was a good thing she got Ururu to record it on her camera so Kisuke could watch it later.

_Ah… he's such an innocent virgin, _thought Yoruichi humorously, thinking of the conversation she and Kisuke had awhile ago.

* * *

><p>"Rukia! Clean up your Chappy shit! It's all over the living room," he said, pointing at Rukia's "Chappy shit."<p>

"It's not shit! It's valuable merchandise!"

"No, it's just random shit," he said, crossing his arms. "I can't even sit down and watch TV anymore."

Rukia stuck her tongue at him, "That's not my problem," she said, merrily skipping to the kitchen.

"Oh, yes it is! Ever since you came, all you've done was trash my apartment and boss me around!" he responded, frustrated.

Upon hearing his words, she came to stop. His words sank into her head and repeated over and over again. _He's right… I've been nothing but a nuisance, but he shouldn't worry. I have a feeling I won't be here for long, _she thought balling her hands into fists.

She walked out of the kitchen, and watched him as he tried to rearrange her things. He was probably better off without her anyways. She knew that.

She grabbed her coat, and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" questioned Ichigo, moving her Chappy plushie.

"For a walk," she said, not facing him.

She opened the door and left without another word.

The cold breeze blew past her, chilling her nose.

She sat down at a bench in the park and watched as people passed by with their dogs, and children. Maybe she was just making a big deal about everything. What if Ichigo didn't mean what he said? What if he actually enjoyed her company? What if he actually hated her? What if he hadn't taken her in?

Life was just full of questions that she couldn't answer. She didn't even know why she felt so strongly towards his opinion and what he thought. She didn't even know what he was to her for him to impact her with his every word!

She didn't even understand it herself.

Rukia sighed and looked up at the sunset sky. The orange tint in the sky reminded her of the one person who always occupied her mind.

Maybe to help Ichigo out, and lessen his daily headaches from school, she could start helping around the apartment. I wasn't like she did anything in the first place, so she could clean. Yeah, that's what she could do! He wouldn't have to overexert his head for anything other than his studies anymore if she helped out!

She got up and smiled, happy with her idea. She looked around and noticed the street lamps were on and that it was close to pitch black outside.

She started to walk home, but noticed that there were a few men in black suits scattered around the corner. One of the men had silver hair and a mischievous grin on his face.

_Ichimaru Gin… _

Rukia quickly ran the other way, hoping none of the men had spotted her. She ran to the closest gas station and entered it, carefully checking if she was followed.

She sighed when she noticed none of the men had seen her, or so she thought.

She checked outside copious amounts of time, hoping the men had left. Much to her dismay, the men didn't leave until about an hour and a half later, and it was completely dark by then.

She exhaled deeply, and went to make her way out. She was stopped however when she remembered the last time she had walked through the dark to get Ichigo from his class. He had harangued her about it when they had gotten home.

To save her ears and sanity, she decided to use the store phone and call him to ask him to pick her up.

She dialed his number, and waited for him to pick up.

"_Mushi-mushi?" _replied Ichigo from the other line.

"Could you come get me?" she said, not bothering to tell him it's her. He probably already knew it was her. For all she knew, he could have been anxiously waiting for the phone to ring for the past hour, which wasn't far from the truth.

"_Rukia, where are you?"_

"I'm at the gas station near the park," she answered.

"_I'll be right there," _he said before hanging up.

He arrived about 10 minutes after she called, bent over and breathing heavily. He looked up at her, the store's lights illuminating her figure.

"Thanks for getting me, Ichigo," said Rukia, walking up to him and laying her hand on his back.

He stood up straight and scratched the back of his head, "No problem. We should get going now." He lent her his arm and she wrapped her small arms around his one arm and nuzzled her face into it.

"Yeah… let's go home," she said, walking close to him as they made their way home.

Rukia looked up at the stars and smiled. She looked up at Ichigo's face and rested her head on his arm. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah?" he said, look down at her.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

* * *

><p>Rukia walked into Ichigo's office and saw him sprawled out on his desk, drooling. She chuckled and stood next to him, observing his face. He looked kind of cute when he was sleeping, minus the drool. He looked at peace, and his face didn't contain its usual scowl. He looked like a baby, metaphoric much?<p>

She left the office and came back with a paper towel and a blanket. She draped the blanket over his shoulders, and gently lifted his head, placing the paper towel under his mouth where he drooled. She laughed softly to herself and turned to walk away, but suddenly stopped. She looked back down at him, and fought the urge to run her hand through his hair.

It had been a little more than two months since she had began living with him, and she felt like she was growing a little too attached to him. Soon she would have to leave, and that would be too painful for her to bear.

For now, to save her a little pain, she would keep her distance.

"Ichigo, where are we going? I can't see anything," said Rukia as she was dragged around by the _hand_. She could hear a cacophony of sounds as people talked, babies cried, and kids played.

"You'll see," answered Ichigo.

After walking for another 10 minutes, he finally came to a stop and took the blind fold off her face, revealing a firework exploding in the sky in a blend of Rukia's favorite colors.

She looked up at the sky in awe as more fireworks exploded. She smiled brightly and turned to Ichigo, "You brought me here to see fireworks?"

"Yeah, you've been a little down for the past few days, so I thought I would bring you to see fireworks," he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Unexpectedly, she tackled him to the ground in a big hug. "Thank you…," she said softly, tightening her arms around his waist.

Ichigo blinked in surprise at her sudden act of affection, but softened his expression and sat up. "No problem, Rukia… anything to make you happy," he whispered to her.

She could feel unwanted tears surfacing. She wiped them, and sat up, sending a genuine smile his way. _Thank you, Ichigo… for caring, _she thought blinking back more tears.

They both sat there, watching as the fireworks exploded with color into the sky.

Rukia laid her head on Ichigo's shoulder and sighed happily. She knew she wouldn't be able to feel this happiness ever again, so she tried to enjoy it while she could.

Just knowing that he was there made her happy…

* * *

><p>She couldn't take this anymore, she really couldn't. The anxiety of knowing that they could strike at any moment really tugged at her hair. She just couldn't bear it anymore.<p>

She had to leave.

They had been following her for the past week, and she could feel it. She could feel their eyes on the back of her head, and it innerved her knowing that they could be watching Ichigo as well.

"I can't get him involved. I have to leave. I have to get out of this city," she said, looking downwards.

Ichigo was almost home from classes. She needed to leave. Now.

She grabbed all the things that she needed, and stuffed them in her coat pocket. She glanced at the time, _He'll be home in ten minutes, _she thought, balling her hands into fists.

She quickly wrote him a note before exiting his apartment and looking back one more time until she ran off… leaving her happiness behind.

* * *

><p>Noting the silence in his apartment, Ichigo flicked on the lights and looked around. His whole apartment was cleaned up of Rukia's things, and it looked like no one was ever here.<p>

He started walking around calling out Rukia's name. Not getting a reply, he suddenly felt something akin to fear. "Rukia?" he called one last time before urgently looking around the house for a trace of her.

It was like she was never there.

"Where is she?" he asked himself, walking into his office. Immediately, a piece of paper caught his eye. It was a drawing of him from Rukia, and attached to it was a note. He opened it and read its contents:

_Thank you for everything… I hope you won't have the misfortune to meet me ever again, so please, live your life to the fullest._

_Goodbye, Ichigo._

_~Rukia _

Before he knew it, he had run out of his apartment, running desperately down the street.

He knew where she was, and he was determined to beat her there.

* * *

><p>Rukia knew they were probably watching her right at this moment. She knew it, but she didn't care. Her life was like a little game of "hide and seek." She would hide and they would try to find her, which they always did. It happened so often that she had lost interest in even trying to get away from them. She didn't even know why they wanted her in the first place. She was useless, trash, worthless.<p>

She sighed, walking slowly towards her destination. She had decided, she would sit in her favorite tree one last time before finishing her game of "hide and seek." She already knew she had lost, but she wasn't going to give up until they had actually caught her.

Nearing her favorite tree, she allowed herself to smile… even if it was a fake one. She fastened her pace and touched the trunk of the tree with her hand.

As Rukia was about to climb up the tree, a hand came around her mouth and an arm around her waist. She didn't struggle and just allowed herself to be grabbed. _They came to get me already? _she thought.

"Rukia," said a voice all too familiar to her.

She widened her eyes and looked backwards, only to see Kurosaki Ichigo, the person she had least expected to see. He let go of her mouth and turned her to face him, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Why did you leave?" he asked, with a hint of pain hidden in his voice.

She looked at him in disbelief, why? Why did he come for her? Why?

"Why did you look for me?" she asked, trying to back away from him, but failing when his grip on her shoulders tightened.

"You didn't my question," he said.

"It's none of your business!" she retorted, tugging on his arms.

"Yes it is! I need to know why you left! Was it because you felt uncomfortable with me? Was it because I didn't get you the right kind of cheddar bunnies? Did I do something that upset you? Were you unhappy living with me? Wer-" he was interrupted when he was slapped across the face. It wasn't a hard slap, but having it just happen, surprised him more than the pain.

He stared wide eyed at Rukia, who was tightening her fists and clenching her teeth. "How could you think I was unhappy with you, Ichigo? Were my laughs and smiles not noticeable? Living with you was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me… it was the happiest I had ever been," she said, glaring at him.

"Then why did you leave?" he asked, staring at her intensely.

She tightened her fists even more, and her breathing started to quicken. "Because I had to!" she yelled, yanking his arms off of her and backing away two steps. "If I didn't, you would have been caught in the mess! And I don't want that!"

He just stared at her, confused, "Caught in what mess?"

She tightened and un-tightened her fists over and over again, hesitating to tell him the truth. "The yakuza…" she said quietly.

He widened his eyes, "The yakuza? What do you mean the yakuza? What have you been doing, Rukia?"

"I didn't do anything! They came to me! No matter how hard I try, I can't get away from them!" she said, backing away more. "They've been watching me, and I know they've been watching you too. That's why I left. I didn't want to get you involved! Do you know what they could've done to you?"

She turned away from him and started to run off, but she was blocked when she ran into someone's chest. She looked up only to come face to face with Ichimaru Gin.

"Ichimaru…" she said, fear written over her face.

Gin grinned, "You shouldn't have told him about us, Rukia-chan. Look what you've got him into," he gestured his head toward Ichigo, who was held down to the ground with his arms locked to his back by a couple of Gin's men.

"Ichigo!" she called, trying to run towards him, but instead cried out in pain when Gin grabbed her hair and yanked her back.

"No, no, Rukia-chan, it's no use worrying about him. He'll be dead soon," said Gin. He turned toward the black van parked nearby and yelled, "Aizen-sama, I've got Rukia and her little boyfriend. You can come out and play now!"

Rukia widened her eyes in horror, and ignored the pain from Gin's grip on her hair. She turned to Ichigo, and yelled, "Get out of here! They'll kill you! I know you can fight Ichigo. Use your skills and run away from here!"

Gin's smile faltered a bit, and he kneed her in the back, making her cry out in pain.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called out, resulting to his face being pushed further down into the ground.

The man called Aizen stepped up in front of Rukia and smirked, "Ah, nice to see you again, Rukia-chan. Your little games are always so amusing," he said, cupping her cheeks harshly to lift her face up to look at him. "But they're getting annoying," he said cruelly glaring at her. He lifted his hand and smacked her hard against the face. "This is your punishment for running away, Rukia-chan. You know how annoying it is to track you down."

He lifted her with her hair and dangled her like she was object before kneeing her with all his strength into her stomach and throwing her into the ground.

Rukia coughed up blood and glared up at Aizen, "Why don't you just let me go?" she said with some difficulty, her voice hoarse.

He grinned, "You're a fun play toy for all my men, including me. You're feisty, and men like that," he chuckled at her expression and stepped on her stomach.

Ichigo watched in horror as Aizen tortured her.

He couldn't even do anything about it. He wasn't able to fend off all of these men all by himself with only his bare hands. They had the advantage, guns, and batons.

The men above him dug his face deeper into the ground, and laughed as they watch Rukia get thrown around.

Aizen glanced toward Ichigo, and grinned wider. "Oh, right. I forgot about your little friend here," he said to Rukia. Her eyes widened in fear, making him laugh, "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to him, physically. But I'm going make him watch as I fuck you over and over and over again, right here and now. He can watch you scream and cry as I laugh."

The color completely drained from Rukia's face, and she suddenly felt sick. Tears started to make an appearance as he neared her, making her slowly crawl away, "No… no… no… please, not again!" she yelled in terror.

Ichigo felt a burst of anger ignite within him. What did Rukia mean when she said, "again?" Did that mean that this guy had done _that_ to her before? He looked at Rukia and noticed the frightened look in her eyes as she struggled to move away.

_Rukia… _he said to himself, clenching his fists. He couldn't believe he didn't notice, all those times she had sat by his bed at night shaking, as if she wanted to cry.

He was so blind.

Hearing her yells, and seeing her tears, Ichigo tightened his fists and forced himself up, elbowing the man on top of him in the face and taking his baton. He glared with murderous intent at the other men and started kicking each and every one of them in the back of the head.

More men came and attacked him. He dodged their bats and kicked them in the stomach. He continued to kick and punch the men coming at him, occasionally getting a hit in the face, causing his cheeks to bruise.

No matter how much it hurt, he had to save Rukia. He could tell that she had been through a lot, and he couldn't bear thinking about all the things she had to endure. She didn't deserve this abuse.

More blood shed as Ichigo knocked the men's teeth out and punched them in the stomach. He wiped some blood from his own mouth and breathed heavily, glaring at Aizen, who was smirking.

"Well, well, aren't you the hero complex?" said Aizen with tone of mock. He walked over to Rukia and yanked her upwards by cupping her cheeks. "So this is the guy you've been sneaking around with? A med student? Wow, Rukia-chan, I didn't know how high your expectancies were. Dirty slut," he kicked her hard in the stomach causing her to cough up more blood.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Ichigo's fists were so tightly balled together that his nails were cutting through his skin, making it gush out blood.

"Says who? Her 'hero?'" Aizen laughed, and took his gun out from his holster and pointed it directly at Ichigo. "Even if you are a civilian, you know about her, which makes you qualified to die."

Rukia tried to watch with her blurry eyes. Seeing as she could barely make out the shape of the gun, and where it was pointed, her fear went up a notch. "Ichigo! I told you run away! Why are you still standing there? Go!" she yelled.

She tried to move, but Aizen had hit all of her vital points, paralyzing most of her body. To make it worse, she could still taste the metallic taste of blood in her mouth as she watched the scene play out.

Ichigo was breathing heavily, his fingers twitching with adrenaline. After all the fighting, his mind felt adjusted to all the movement that occurred around him.

Aizen glared at him and slowly pulled the trigger, sending a bullet flying toward Ichigo's head.

The orange haired man could literally see its very movement as if it were moving slowly. He rolled to the side and sprung up with great speed, running at Aizen with a completely murderous intent.

The yakuza leader didn't even see that Ichigo had disappeared before he was right next to him.

Ichigo slammed the baton into the back of Aizen's head, inevitably smashing his skull. "Fuck you, Aizen!" yelled Ichigo as he continued to kick him copious times.

Rukia widened her eyes at him, amazed at what she just witnessed. Was this really the Ichigo she knew? She knew he could fight, but she didn't know he was this good. She couldn't believe that a mere med student was able to knock out Aizen, a yakuza boss that everyone feared. She blinked up at him, and slowly called out his name, "I-Ichigo…"

The orange haired man stopped, and looked down at Rukia. He had almost forgotten about his humanity for a moment. He was so consumed with anger that it controlled his body.

"Rukia…" he said crouching down, helping her sit up. "You okay?" Despite already knowing the answer, he still asked anyway.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you though? You have some slash marks on your arm, and you have a cut on your face," she said, touching his face.

"It's nothing," he said, reaching for her hand. He looked around, noticing that the other guy, Gin, was gone. "Wait, where's the other guy?"

"He's gone. Don't worry about him. He won't bother us anymore if Aizen's unconscious… or dead. He hates him even more than I do. He just follows his orders out of fear for some other person's sake," she told him, curling up to his chest.

As the breeze blew in the cold night air, Rukia coughed up more blood and shivered violently.

Noticing her physical appearance, Ichigo's face clouded with worry. "Come on, let's go home…" he picked her up bridal style and began walking away.

Her face nestled in his chest, and her hands held onto his torn and ripped shirt. "I'm sorry, Ichigo. For all of this… you should have just left me on the sidewalk that one day two months ago. You're better off without me making your life harder," she said, looking up at the moon bright in the sky and closing her eyes and sighing.

"Rukia… don't say that. I'm glad that I took you in that day two months ago. I'm glad that you came into my life. And I'm glad that all this happened, you know why?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him, as he gazed down at her. "Why?"

"I was able to find the one I wanted to protect the most," he said, pulling her closer to his body. "I was able to find you."

Rukia wasn't a sap, and she certainly wasn't one to cry over things like this so easily, but she ended up crying anyways. Her tears poured down her cheeks like a cascading waterfall, she even cried out a little.

Ichigo looked at her in surprise, "Why are you crying?"

She wiped her tears, and put on her best smile, "Because I love you, idiot."

It took awhile for her words to sink into his head before he grinned sheepishly, "Oh… well, I love ya' too." He smiled and looked up at the star's, at the moon.

Rukia smiled and laid her head closer to his chest, "Thank you again, Ichigo. For your love, kindness, concern, everything."

"No, Rukia, thank _you_ for everything. You're always thanking me, even though I should be thanking you," he said walking closer to his apartment.

She smirked and lightly punched him in the arm, "Shut up," she said playfully.

"Look Rukia, we're home," said Ichigo, placing her down so he could unlock the door.

Rukia sighed in delight, she was free at last. She would never have to look back again, just forward into her future.

_Home sweet home…_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Aizen is such an asshole! I hate him with a passion! Writing him in this story made me hate him more. Bleh...

Anyways, repeating what I said before, this is a one-shot, so it was kind of "rushed" and not descriptive like a chapter story. I'm not perfect, so the story obviously has flaws. I like criticism, and opinions, so please provide them for me! But remember, when you criticize, you must then explain HOW to fix what I did wrong. If you just criticize and leave it like that, I'll consider it as a flame.

**Please REVIEW and check out my other stories! Thank you!  
><strong>


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